Ford Fiesta and Focus lead UK March market
Ford's top-selling vehicle range maintained its clear sales lead of the UK market during March's changeover to the "11" plate. Ford's leadership of the car and commercial vehicle (CV) markets was underlined by sales increases of key models and enhanced retail sales that point to the powerful customer appeal of Ford's best-ever vehicle range.
Official figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that without the benefit of the scrappage incentive scheme that boosted sales in March 2010, total UK car sales in March this year were down 7.9 per cent to 366,101 units.
Ford car sales of 52,829 were down from 64,498 in March 2010 and Ford's share of total car sales was 14.4 per cent, down from 15.6 per cent in March 2010. In contrast, Ford's retail car market share in March was 14.0 per cent, 0.9 percentage points up compared with the same period in 2010.
Ford Fiesta was the UK car sales leader in March and for the year to date with the Ford Focus in 2nd place. The new Ford C-MAX was a stand out performer in March raising sales from 1,202 in March 2010 to 3,853 in March 2011 and raising its share of cars sales from 0.3 per cent to 1.1 per cent.
Nigel Sharp, Ford of Britain managing director, said: "March has actually bettered expectations with the overall market up 5.9 per cent on 2010, excluding scrappage volume. However, the market is intensely competitive and it has been important to maintain the right balance between sales/share and business profitability in this crucial sales month. Ford's outstanding vehicle range has helped achieve this balance with new models such as the new Ford C-MAX, joined in March by the exciting new Ford Focus, contributing to a significant growth in retail share."
The strong appeal of the Ford car range to customers is best illustrated by the increase in retail share for the month and also the increase from 12.3 to 13.2 per cent for the year to date, compared with the same period last year. Importantly, for the year to date Ford has also extended its lead over its closest rival in retail sales and share, compared with the same period in 2010.
Ford's traditional dominance of the CV market, where the Ford Transit alone takes more than a quarter of medium CV sales, has been further strengthened through 2011. Ford Transit increased sales in March from 7,712 to 9,957, compared with March 2010, while for the year to date sales were up from 11,351 to 16,224 and its medium CV share increased from 25.4 to 25.8, compared with the same period in 2010.
Total Ford CV sales increased in March from 10,607 to 12,622, compared with March 2010 and for the year to date have increased from 15,879 to 20,668. In the light CV sector both the Ford Fiesta Van and Transit Connect have increased share for March and the year to date, compared with 2010, while Ford Ranger, similar to the Ford Transit, has increased sales and share in the medium CV sector for March and for the year to date, compared with 2010.
Jon Wellsman, Ford of Britain sales director, said: "Ford has scored important sales gains right across its vehicle range in March, including significant uplifts in the Ford commercial vehicle range, where our already dominant medium commercials have extended the sales lead over our nearest rivals."
